


Blue Morpho

by 211SUNA



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, Alternate Universe - Voldemort Wins, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Minor Character Death, Miscommunication, Moral Ambiguity, Not Beta Read, Past Rape/Non-con, Post-Canon, Rape Recovery, Redemption, Slow Build, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, World War II, Young Tom Riddle, but only for the tiniest bit at the beginning, does it count as post canon if it's time travel, it's more referenced than anything
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:34:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27454333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/211SUNA/pseuds/211SUNA
Summary: Holly, Harry’s twin, agrees to go on a mission when Voldemort’s ever-growing forces close in on what’s left of the Order. It’s half-baked, messy, involvesquitea bit of magic misconduct, and doesn’t even guarantee them victory. However, desperate times call for desperate measures and they’ve never been more helpless in their lives.The mission?Go back in time and convince Tom Riddle Senior to adopt Tom Riddle Junior.
Relationships: Merope Gaunt/Tom Riddle Sr., Past Cecilia/Tom Riddle Sr., Past Tom Riddle Sr./Merope Gaunt
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Blue Morpho

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't going to be entirely canon compliant, as I haven't read the books in quite a while and - quite honestly - can't be bothered to. I'm going to try my best to remember all the magical laws and stuff, though. I'm also not very well-read up on 1920 England, so be prepared for a lot of vague old-fashioned shit sprinkled everywhere.

The rune was perfect.

Of course, Holly expected nothing less from Hermione. Every line was meticulously drawn, not even an inch out of place. The symmetry of it all was unnatural. Holly shivered despite herself, and tore her gaze away from the mandala-esque pattern in the clearing. Harry was leaning against a nearby tree, watching her with an expression Holly would call wary. Or weary – it went both ways nowadays.

“I don't like it.” he said, gaze not dropping from Holly's. Holly gave a short, brittle laugh, and hoped it didn't show how fucking _terrified_ she was. Of course he didn't like it. No one did, but it had to be done. Ignoring the unpleasant squeezing of her stomach, Holly shrugged.

 _Keep up the air of casualness, and everything will be alright._ That was what she had to keep telling herself.

“Look, I know that it isn't the safest plan, but it's all we have now. And besides-”

“That isn't what I'm talking about!” Harry interrupted, his outburst sharp and furious. _That isn't what I'm talking about and you know it,_ was what he was thinking. Holly didn't know what to say, so she said nothing. What _could_ she say? Nothing would come out of her mouth that would convince Harry that time travel was sane.

A faint golden glow was emitting from the rune now. Holly glanced at the stop watch in her hand – they were forbidden to cast magic around the rune, lest it upset something – and the time read 11:50. Great. Ten more minutes until Holly stepped away from all she knew, just for the chance that it _might_ fix the massive fuck up they were living in.

Harry might not be alright with it, but that was all Holly needed.

From the small grunt coming from Harry's direction, he had noticed the time too. “This isn't right, Hol, and I can't believe that they actually _talked_ you into doing this. Just- just step away from the rune, and we can tell Hermione that it didn't work-”

Holly snorted; she couldn't help herself. She had to interrupt Harry before the tears started welling up. It was tempting – his offer was very tempting. To just walk away from unstable magic, and to just _stay_ with the Order. Stay in 1998 and hope things go up from there.

But at the same time... Holly glanced back at the rune. There was something alluring about the way the magic moved there; in delicate, lazy swirls, not bothering to hover in one place for long. The raw energy pulsing through the lines was intoxicating, the _power_ was dizzying _._ It was dangerous. It was beautiful.

“You know I can't do that.” her voice was soft, but strong. She wasn't going back. She wasn't going back for a long, long time.

A thick silence hung over the twins. Holly knew that Harry was mulling over his words, going round and round in circles to try and think of _something_ to make her stay. She grinned, surprisingly pleased about his stubbornness. No one else had fought that hard to make Holly stay. “And besides,” she said, to try and lighten up the mood, “as if _Hermione's_ rune wouldn't work. That girl can probably draw these runes in her sleep.”

Harry didn't laugh.

“You're the only family I have left,” he said. His voice had lost it's anger. It ended on a vulnerable quiver, and Holly didn't dare turn around to see his expression.

 _Ah._ So that was what he was going for. Holly bared her teeth in a horrible impersonation of a smile, and shook her head. Her stomach lurched, the aching growing more painful. “You'll have a lot more if I succeed.”

 _Five minutes._ Holly sighed, and suddenly wished Harry wasn't so stubborn. She wished that all her friends were here, so she could hug them and cry into their shoulders and have a tearful, dramatic goodbye. She wished that she wasn't the one who had to do this. She wished that she could at least have a laugh with her brother before she went.

Fuck, her eyes were getting wet.

“Please, Harry- don't make this harder than it has to be,” Holly turned around and begged. The last thing she wanted as her last memory was the sight of Harry's conflicted expression. “You won't even know that I'm gone. Everything will be fixed when it's 1998 again, _I promise._ So just please _,_ don't make me cry.”

Harry's face scrunched up even more, and Holly felt like collapsing. Too many emotions were entangling with each other, forming a suffocating vice around her heart. Sadness, guilt, longing. And then there was a surge of anger, creeping up and squeezing around her like poison ivy.

“THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOU!” she shouted, and then blinked in surprise. She hadn't meant to shout-why was she shouting? Harry looked shocked, too, but quickly scowled. “When did I ever make this about me?”

“All the fucking time, Harry! _Oh, please don't leave me because then_ I'll _be left all alone! Oh, I don't care that the Dark Lord's basically knocking at our door as we speak, I can think of something because I'm Harry_ fucking _Potter!_ ” Holly knew that she was getting hysterical, but it never felt more freeing.

She was seeing red. The _last_ few minutes Harry would be seeing his sister, and he decided to spend it complaining and moping? Seriously? They had been planning this for months, and only _now_ he wanted to speak up? It was so insensitive Holly wanted to cry. Or scream.

Oh wait, _she was._

Harry's face had turned a few shades whiter than it previously was, and there was the familiar angry glint in his eyes. It was stupid, all of this was so stupid and they both knew it. “I didn't speak up because everyone was so hell-bent on the idea. I didn't think that it would actually work. And I didn't think you would actually agree to it.

“You've never wanted to participate in the war before, Holly! Why are you starting now?”

“Oh, maybe it's because _THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO STOP IT?_ Jesus, Harry, are you even listening to yourself?” Holly couldn't believe her ears. A small part of her was screaming at her to shut up, to just go back and have a heartfelt goodbye instead of whatever this fucking mess was. Another part - the louder part - was telling her to yell until she lost her voice. There was static mumbling in the background - the pain in her stomach was growing larger, and the Time-Turner around her neck was beginning to burn.

Fucking hell, she really was doing this now.

“THEN LET SOMEONE ELSE DO IT! LET KINGSLEY, OR MCGONAGALL, OR SOMEONE WITH MORE EXPERIENCE-”

“Oh, so when _you_ want to do your crazy stupid ideas it's alright, but when _I_ want to go through with something that _will actually matter,_ I'm suddenly inexperienced?” Holly felt like she couldn't breathe. It was so fucking petty to be fighting, but she couldn't help herself. There was a slight tremble to her hands, so she tightened her grip around the Time-Turner. Harry eyed the movement, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

“That's not what I meant-”

“Of course it isn't,” Holly let out an ugly half-laugh, half-sob, “you know, I've _also_ been through this war my entire life, Harry. I have enough experience to last me a lifetime. Just because you don't think I'm ready, doesn't mean I'm going to sit back and watch all of us die.”

Harry stuttered, but Holly was barely listening to him any more. She was too busy trying to get her breathing under control. She couldn't think- she didn't want to think. It was almost as if she lost before she could even try. Defeat had never tasted so bitter. Holly let a wild giggle escape through her lips, not caring about the alarmed stare Harry was boring into her head. As abrupt as the laugh came, it went. Holly bit her lip and promptly silenced herself.

She turned away from him and walked to the rune. Harry's protests grew louder, but Holly blocked them out firmly. _Don't think about him._ She repeated this, over and over. “I don't give a shit about what you think is right for me, Harry. I'm going to go through with this.” Holly said, words directed at Harry but eyes fixated on the thrumming display of magic in front of her.

Now that the moment was drawing closer than ever, Holly felt a strange calm rush through her bones. All her previous nerves faded away into the background - it was like the ancient energy embedded into the rune was reaching into her and soothing all her worries.

“Hol, _please._ Please don't do this,” Harry begged, but his voice was feeble compared to the pounding of blood in her ears. It was like the magic was whispering to her; strange, unintelligible murmurs that reminded Holly of that ethereal veil they encountered in the Department of Mysteries.

She took a step closer. Then another.

Soon enough, she was standing directly in the middle of the elaborate design. Her breath came in slow, steadying draws, further calming her racing heart. The glow grew stronger, and Holly clutched the Time-Turner so tight she thought it would cut into her palm. Dizziness hit her like a brick, and suddenly she was swaying on her feet.

Not daring to step out of place, Holly just clenched her eyes shut and began to pray.

_Please God, let this work._

The magic was expanding and convulsing around her, wrapping her up in a strangely comforting blanket. An array of tingles travelled up her body; starting with her toes and working their way up her spine, until it felt like she was floating.

As the last bits of her conscious dripped away, Holly turned the Time-Turner in her hand.

And then, nothing.

* * *

Holly woke to the sounds of chirping birds and rustling leaves. Vision bleary from sleep and time-travel, Holly pulled herself up with some effort. She was in the middle of a forest clearing, with only the clothes on her back and her wand to her body. Shaking her head, as if to try and clear her thoughts, Holly tried to remember why she was all alone in the bloody wilderness.

Her memory was jumbled, but Holly remembered bits and pieces – she remembered grim faces and sympathetic eyes, intrinsic glyphs, sleepless nights, Harry's blazing eyes and snarling lip...

 _Did it work?_ The thought alone was enough to send a bolt of adrenaline through her. The subtle aches and pains of her body seemed meaningless as she shot to her feet. Everything rushed back to her at once – the argument with Harry, the primal magic flooding her veins, and then- and then...

Her heart was lodged in her throat. She almost tripped over her own feet in her haste to try and get out of the forest. Luckily, the Time-Turner didn't send her flying into another part of Britain (or worse, another country); that was the one thing Hermione wasn't sure was going to happen.

“ _Make sure you have this map memorised. I know that you_ think _you know England like the back of your palm, but 1926 is a lot different from 1998.” Hermione's eyes were serious as she pressed a yellowing map into Holly's hand. She only rolled her eyes and pocketed the paper. “Don't worry about me, 'Mione – I've always been good with directions.”_

_Hermione quirked her eyebrow and cuffed Holly around the head. Holly ducked in an attempt to dodge, and grinned when she caught a glimpse of Hermione's smile. “Just look at it, you dolt. It'll do you good.”_

Holly shook her head at the memory. Thank Merlin Time was merciful, at least.

* * *

It took almost an hour for Holly to reach the outskirts of London, mostly due to her stumbling and taking breaks every few minutes. To be fair to her, she _had_ just time-travelled seventy two years into the past – a feat Holly was pretty sure no one else had done before.

Humming to herself, Holly made her way through the throng of people. 1926 London wasn't pleasant; a kind of glumness clung to the streets, trailing after impassive faces; stark rays of sun glinted off the windows of small shops lining the road. The heat was sweltering and Holly had to hold back a sudden urge to cough from the lack of fresh air.

She didn't come completely unprepared, of course. Luna and Ginny had managed to salvage some old frocks from the attic of the Weasley House before it all went under siege (courtesy of Death Eaters). The clothes smelt a bit odd and itched awfully in some awkward places, but Holly was glad Hermione had wrangled her into the dress and stupid little hat. To the rest of the people in London, Holly was just another average citizen.

“Care for the latest news, ma'am?” a squeaky, over-eager voice piped up. Holly turned to see a young boy staring at her with large brown eyes and a nervous smile. Next to him was a stack of newspapers. Whilst Holly didn't have an particular interest in Muggle news, she took pity on the boy. “Sure kid,” she said, pulling out a couple coins. She had no idea what they were called or how much the newspaper was worth, but there wouldn't be any need for her to keep the Muggle currency anyway. By the way his eyes gleamed when he saw how much was in her hand, Holly deemed it acceptable. “Go buy your mum something nice with that, will ya?” if he was confused by the strange way she talked, he didn't let it show. “Thanks kindly, miss!” he cheered, pocketing the golden coins like it was his treasure. Holly smiled at him and took the newspaper he happily offered.

“The Daily Telegraph, huh?” Holly murmured, eyes casually scanning the page. It wasn't anything particularly interesting, the unmoving vintage pictures doing nothing to capture Holly's intrigue. World War 2 wasn't until a few more years, and Holly was planning on bolting from Europe when 1939 rolled around. Hopefully with Tom and Tom Sr. by her side.

Shrugging to herself, Holly went to fold the paper in half and tuck it away to be forgotten, until her eyes caught the date in the top left of the page.

_No. It couldn't be._

Holly suddenly felt sick. Any previous good will she had left had vanished. The nauseating pounding had returned with vigour, and her world view was suddenly feeling very slanted.

One job. She had _one job_ and she fucked it.

_22 September, 1925._

_Not 1926._

_Fuck._

**Author's Note:**

> The beginning is a little more serious than I'm used to writing, so the rest of the rest of the chapters will be more light-hearted.


End file.
